The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) announces that several of its seasoned pilots have completed extensive unmanned aircraft system (UAS) training and now are qualified to perform commercial flights with the firm’s UAS. Earlier in 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted Sanborn a Section 333 Exemption to commercially operate a UAS.

Geospatial and Aerial Mapping Solutions Nationwide, The Sanborn Map Company, Colorado Springs, Colo.
“Our pilots are among the most nation’s most skilled at performing complex mapping missions,” says Sanchit Agarwal, director of mapping operations. “Their vast knowledge and experience will seamlessly transfer to our UAS operations, putting Sanborn at the forefront of offering exceptional UAS services anywhere in the United States.”

Sanborn already has successfully completed several commercial UAS data collection projects, as well as numerous test flights to validate the system’s geospatial data collection capabilities. The efforts have resulted in unprecedented data accuracy and resolution, enabling a broad portfolio of services that include high-quality, engineering-grade digital terrain models (DTMs) exceeding 2-inch accuracy; multispectral frame imagery at sub-centimeter resolution; crisp, vibration-free video; high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data; and thermal imaging data.

In addition to providing UAS flight services, Sanborn offers a full range of professional image processing and analysis services for all UAS imagery collected. As with all Sanborn offerings, the firm’s UAS data is available as a licensed product within the firm’s cloud service, allowing customers to cost-effectively store and securely access their data around the clock. Customers also can purchase and host the data on their own servers if desired.
Several functional examples of how Sanborn serves customers with its UAS include damage assessment and response efforts, site mapping, water resource mapping, volumetric assessment and asset estimation, highway survey and accident mapping, corridor asset review, assessment, and mapping, and precision agriculture.

About Sanborn’s UAS

Sanborn’s commercial UAS is a vertical take off and landing (VTOL) platform with a hefty 15-pound payload capacity. This enables the use of a wide range of sophisticated sensors or combinations of sensors, including video, multispectral, hyperspectral and infrared (thermal). The high-performance aircraft features a full military-grade autopilot with GPS waypoints and laser altimeters that are integrated with its sensor payload, permitting pinpoint sensor control. Additionally, the rugged aircraft has demonstrated amazing reliability, including maximum stability in winds up to 50 mph.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc.

Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) is a preeminent leader in the exploding geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping, visualization and 3-D solutions to customers worldwide. The firm currently operates a fleet of 14 aircraft located strategically across the United States. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3-D modeling and visualization software and services, indoor mapping with its proprietary SPIN robot, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sales, services and image processing, and a host of geospatial software development.